Archos GamePad: a New Way to Game

Physical gaming pads that blend a screen with physical buttons may not be new, but the Archos GamePad is one of the first gaming pads that will be offering Android Jelly Bean 4.1. For those of you who are not familiar with the Jelly Bean operating system, it is Google’s latest release of its popular Android system that has proved itself to be the best version yet. The Archos GamePad will bring the power of Jelly Bean with a light and thin device that will also take advantage of Google Play, along with Google Mobile Services.

The Archos GamePad will offer a 1024 x 600 pixel screen along with 16 million colors to bring a bright and vibrant experience to the device. For those who have found touchscreen operation of a game cumbersome, the Archos GamePad offers 14 physical buttons and dual analog thumb-sticks. In addition, the GamePad also offers a revolutionary new gaming tool called mapping, which Archos claims is an exclusive to its product.

On the official website, the developers of the Archos GamePad state that their unique mapping tool will:

map any virtual-controlled game

provide an easy-to-use, drag and drop interface that will map a game in seconds

automatically load mapping profiles and start your games

include hundreds of profiles for the popular games

But hold on. Not only is the Archos GamePad a gamer’s delight, but it is also a full-fledged tablet computer. Users can enjoy Google Now to search and find anything on the Internet, surf the Web faster with the Google Chrome browser, and even check Google Gmail. In fact, this gaming device has access to all of Google’s most popular services including Google Maps, Google+, and even Google Drive with 5 GB of free storage for your stuff.

These are the specifications for the device:

Google-certified Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system

Quad-core Mali 400 MP GPU paired with a 1.6 GHz dual-core CPU

8 GB of internal memory with a microSD slot or up to 64 GB of additional space

A mini-HDMI port for connecting the GamePad to a television

700,000 apps and games with DRM support for downloading books, magazines, music, movies, and TV shows available through Google Play

Tailor-made apps for video and music that include metadata scraping, auto-subtitles, and format and codec support with 1080p video decoding

The Archos is in every way a full-fledged tablet computer, so buying this GamePad has a lot to offer. The device should become available here in the US sometime in early 2013.